The Region VI RCE will address the need for research career development through a program that is targeted at two groups of investigators at different stages of their careers: A) junior investigators who are at the senior post-doc or starting faculty level and who have not yet achieved independent federal funding, and B) more senior, established investigators who are already funded but in areas that do not involve Category A to C agents. In either case, the goals will be 1) to sharpen the trainee's research skills and knowledge of biodefense issues through a carefully mentored, individually tailored program of biodefense-related research supplemented by participation in didactic coursework where relevant, and 2) to set the trainee on the path to a career in which he/she will remain engaged in research related to biodefense and emerging infectious diseases. The program will draw upon the richness of the regional expertise in this general area of research, as well as supporting disciplines including proteomics, genomics, informatics, and structural and chemical biology, to provide multidisciplinary mentorship of career development trainees, and to ensure that mentored research activities are adequately focused on the translational linkages between basic discovery, product development and clinical evaluation. The ability to attract investigators to the career development program from under-represented minorities will be enhanced by the designation of UTMB and multiple other participating institutions as Hispanic or Native American Centers of Excellence by HRSA, as well as the engagement of both Hispanic serving institutions and historically black universities in the Region VI RCE initiative. The Region VI RCE will also be able to provide training in BSL-4 level laboratory practices through its unique BSL-4 laboratory resources, and recognizes its obligations to the national research effort to produce investigators capable of staffing new BSL-4 facilities that are currently in the planning stages.